Date Posted:Wed, Feb 13 2008, 03:34:02pm
The trouble in Hagen started over a brawl incident at the kanges hotel over a lady from Kerama province. The lady went there with some engan guys and some of the western highlands guys there tried to go after the same lady. That is how the trouble was instigated. Also the security guard there must have got too involved by taking sides with his fellow western highlanders and when the brawl go too out of hand that is how he lost his life.
After the incident the guys who where responsible for the security guards killing must have fled the scene. The next day the Jika tribesman without warning drove by Hagen T-school and shot one 'Sakar' boy called Timothy Henry (son of a sakar businessman) while he was sitting outside his house. After he was shot also another two guys believed to be from Laigaim area was shot and also a Combro - Irale guy was also shot. The total tally of engans who died in the drive by incident was four. At that time the engans werent ready and were taken by suprise when the shooting incident took place then followed by the burning and looting of the houses in the upper-T-school area and some in warakum area. Most of the houses near the t-school cemetery area are o.k. When the houses were torched many people ran away to Arvy and some went to seek shelter at kimininga police barracks under tight police presence.
The current situation this week has remained abit calm and things are slowy getting back to normal with proposed peace talks this week but the tension in the air is still very high. Many engan families who have the financial capability have fled to other places like Goroka and Lae.
The burnings of the houses had taken place by surprise when the engans weren’t ready but now in the last couple of days most engans have also gathered weapons and arms and this has caused the Jika tribe to move back abit. Business houses and other city activities are slowly going back to normal but the tension in the air is still very high and if the peace talks this week doesn’t come out well then the worst possible scenario could happen now that both sides are well prepared.
Also this small tension between the engans and jikas have been there for many previous years since the jikas have always wanted to remove the engans residing especially in t-school and warakum areas and take back their land. I believe that this incident had sparked the opportunity for them to carry this out.
If the trouble is resolved and compensation takes place, we engans will forgive and forget the incident and move on with our lives but the western highlanders, given their nature will never forgive and forget and will always try to retaliate after a few years...

Date Posted:Fri, Feb 15 2008, 11:59:21am
Poralyn Wane.... Thank you for the update. Iam deeply saddened by the loss of my fellow engans in the fight. Innocent lives have been lost. Iam sure the Jikas are really satisfied at what they have accomplished. The sad thing is, they can never get rid of us. We have spread through out the width and breadth of western highlands and we are here to stay. They had the advantage of surprise but Iam sure the next time around, we will be prepared.

Date Posted:Fri, Feb 08 2008, 12:47:07pm
Malipine Onotange....Thank you for the update on the situation in Hagen. Engans are paying a very high price for contributing and developing the western highlands economy.

Because of the soico-economic and political circumstances back in Enga, many of our people have had little choice but to move out and settle in other parts of the country with Hagen being no exception. They might try to marginalise us by getting rid of a few 10's..100, but they will never exterminate the entire race. We number more thank 400,0000 and we are here to stay and the sooner people realize this, the better.

In any corner of this country, you will find us. Iam a bit pissed of at the moment so please pardon me for the tone of my language. A drunken brawl in a night club results in one man dead and the jikas without any warning torch, plunder the entire engan settlement in Hagen. And these are innocent people who had no idea of what was brewing on a terrible night. The Jikas had the advantage of surprise, otherwise it would be another story.

The jikas might not like the engans making settlements on the fringes of hagen town. But what about the thousand hagens who live in morata settlement. Isnt that the same scenario to the engans in hagen.... settling on the fringes of the big city and making ends meet in life. Thus, the question begs answering..where is the justification for this nearly mass genocide? Thank God that only a few were murdered and not hundreds.

Date Posted:Sat, Feb 09 2008, 03:29:43pm
ol lain oh mi stap lo mendi na kam aste na mi lukim olsem road ino safe tumas. If a family member/relo is travelling then better wait for the situation to be eased. Now its still tense! Gossips are that its politically motivated!Why the hell would Jika's do this involving prominent Jika's as per sighted that night? Yupla yet klia!

Na ol buai chewers, Kaiwe market em passs...go long kalakai....even dogs are not roaming the streets. Now its a ghost town, no more cowboy town...

Engans Contributing to Timbai's at all cost!
We better think twice now. And now is the time these disgruntle MPs of ours have to work their dam ass together from one table talking the same language.

Date Posted:Tue, Feb 12 2008, 01:03:56pm
I'm very sorry for the lives of the Engans lost at clash at Mt. Hagen. One of my own brother at Warakum was shot dead. He was a innocent guy.

If you all do not mind, I just want to make one statement here is that I hate Western Highlanders and so I hate the land too. I went for a visit at Mt. Hange one time and happen to come across the settlements and saw that our Engans feed on the rubbish that is dumped byu the city council. They make feast in their little squatters dropped by rubbish trucks and I was very sad. I always saw that most of the thieves at Mt. Hagen town are from Enga who live in these settlements there?

I for one, hate the timbais and will not go to thier land at all cost.

ya, wadex...wat yu've stated is tru in some sense but not all engan's living there are squatters living in slumbs. Maybe yu must have been lucky enough to sleep in one slump!

QUite a hanful of engans have invested so much but thats a nightmare...these jealous MF*&*() assholes have done it again to tanish the gud image of highlanders, PNG and most of all to marginalise and scare Engan Business Men and Women away from doing business and politics in hagen. Em yu kisim oh nogat, Mr. Typical Engan.

Date Posted:Wed, Feb 13 2008, 12:14:41pm
This is somewhat like the Chinese government moving out settlers that have lived in the outskirts of Beijing city for the past 20/30 years.

The Chinese government hasn't cared for these people in the past, and now that the Olympic Games are starting, the people have been kicked out and no-where to go. Does the Chinese government care, NO, just like PNG government, couldn't care less about the less fortunate.

Date Posted:Mon, Feb 25 2008, 01:32:45pm
I have heard from some timbais that the first Western Highlander that was accused to be killed by Engans at the Hotel was actually killed by Western Highlanders themselves. I mean Wai RApa's brother. It was internal kange politics was the blame was just shifted to Engans.
They just came and killed the engans for no good reason.

Date Posted:Tue, Feb 26 2008, 02:26:52pm
FYI,fellow wantoks... ol enga go toktok wantaim ol timabies on the death of the businesmean's son. The situation is still tense. There's a gossip like what EO as stated going around. The moge tribesman burnt the houses to coverup.....source is from the guys who took part in chasing the timbaies out of their own town. olgeta moge klostu lo holi triniti T/college vacated and living along the foot of the mountain.....ol jika ranawe go olsem lo hap bush blo ol tu...hagen is a ghost town no long a cowboy town. only other timbaies are seen roaming the streets aimlessly.....business houses closing early and opening late. its really scary and nogat planti PMV operators on the Enga Hiagen highway...